Thinking you're receiving a message from a flickering light is usually a sign you need to up your Valium dosage and take a break from the internet—but thanks to Minnesota-based LVX System, light-based data transmission is now real.

Six buildings in the town of St Cloud, Minnesota, will soon be fitted with the Visible Light Communication system, which uses flickering LED lights to transmit network traffic to specially configured modems in desktop computers beneath them. They flicker faster than we can see, so no need to worry about headaches.

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This first-gen take on the technology will be installed this week and works at around 3Mbps—enough to meet office workers' YouTube needs. It won't replace standard wi-fi, but is planned as a complement that could ease network congestion as we increasingly thrash the internet. [LVX via AP/Yahoo!]